Mexico's Supreme Court upholds legalized abortion law

In a lopsided ruling, Mexico's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a year-old law in Mexico City legalizing abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, reports The Times' Ken Ellingwood.

The court rejected arguments by abortion opponents that the law violated the Mexican Constitution, whose protections they said covered embryos. A majority of justices said overturning the law would block the right of women to end pregnancies in the early weeks. The vote was 8 to 3 to uphold the measure, approved in April 2007 by Mexico City's leftist-dominated government. Opponents needed support from at least eight of the 11 justices to overturn the law.

As we reported last year, legislators decriminalized abortion in Mexico City's Federal District in April 2007.

Read more on Ellingwood's report on the Supreme Court decision on abortion in Mexico here, and click here for more news on Mexico.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Mario Guzman / EPA